Friday, October 30, 2009

I could never work at Hooters. Not because of my hairy legs, or my just slightly too-small boobs, but because I couldn't bear to watch people eat all those chicken wings. It's not a problem with what they're eating, but rather how they're eating them.

Chicken wings come in two parts: the "drumette" and the "flat." There's only one way to eat the drumette part, and I have no issue with that, but it's watching people eat the flat part of the wing that makes me crazy.

People sort of gnaw around it, nibbling tiny pieces of meat off the two thin bones, and then trying to suck the remaining flesh from in between. It's not pretty. Not only do I find this esthetically unpleasant, but practically speaking, it's a terribly inefficient way to go.

This short video is from the end of a pastrami-rubbed chicken wings recipe I'm currently editing. I decided enough was enough, and that I needed to share my patented flat wing eating technique. This method ensures that 100% of the meat will be captured, and as you'll see, it looks really cool when you dip the perfectly boneless wings into the sauce.

Anyway, the new recipe will be up soon, and when it is I expect you to master this method no matter how many batches it takes! Enjoy.

as a furriner I never figured out what the chicken wing obsession was all about (we used wings for chicken soup together with the neck and chicken offal). For me the best chicken part was always the hind quarter with drumstick.

What a very good trick, and so neatly demonstrated on your video. Having only recently discovered your blog, I clicked on this with some trepidation, wondering if I was to be treated with views of teeth and other mouth parapernalia, but I know now that Chef John can be trusted to present with impecable class and aplomb!

omg. After watching your video, I cant believe how Ive been going about this so horribly wrong for decades without anyone bothering point it out to me. Please come up with more instructional videos like this. Id appreciate one on how to eat a crab at the table on a date.

This is of course great; and who could have demonstrated it better than you, ever the food iconoclast!

HOWEVER...you forget the primal satisfaction of gnawing flesh off a bone that makes chicken wings fun in the first place. it's an excuse to be a caveman! So everything that makes is less primal is probably not as much fun.

HOWEVER, CJ, thanks for this - I'm sure I will impress quite a lot of, aherm, chicks (getit?) with it!

Hate to burst your bubble chef john, but i have been doing that since I can remember eating my second chicken wing, in other words, since I was about 10. Too Little, Too Late. -hazard53150@yahoo.com -Brandon

I saw this video on my friend's livejournal page. I couldn't help but post it to my own as well - it's very useful for folks who HAVEN'T known about this method. Thank you SO MUCH for making this video!http://baking-bahr.livejournal.com

I've had the flat with that small bone removed and all the edible pushed up making an imitation drumette. Then it was cooked that way making 6 wings into 12 drumettes. There was a big piece of gristle in the end I remember.